Surviving Wildfire
by Bramblerose4
Summary: When there’s a delay, it’s Ron to the rescue. The show must go on you know. Songfic, melancholic, romance, Singing!Ron, Musician!Weasleys, Ron/Harry slash


This was my submission for the ginger_lust comm over at livejournal.

I don't know crap about British beers. The brands I used were names I found on the inter-web. The band names are completely made up and silly. (Though I used it for my own purposes in the story) "Fear" belongs to the lovely and talented Sarah McLachlan.

Enjoy!

* * *

Surviving Wildfire.

"Thomas owes us for this," Ron grumbled loudly. "The weather's horrid."

Harry nodded in agreement as he followed his friend. Dean Thomas did owe big time for forcing them to come out in such crappy weather. Rain pelted down like angry tears. It fell fast and hard, limiting visibility. Ginny, Hermione, George and Charlie walked blindly in front of him, clinging to one another in the short distance from the parking lot to the club.

He heard George's voice, but didn't catch what he'd said.

"What?" he asked, shouting in order to be heard.

"The band will be worth it," George repeated.

Up ahead, a small brick building loomed. They entered the building quickly and were greeted by a tall man who asked for their IDs. Once Harry verified that he was indeed old enough to enter the club, he passed through another set the doors and felt the familiar sensations of a drying charm. He shrugged off the effects of unexpected magic and looked around.

The walls were painted with a thick red stripe that ran horizontally around the club. The outer walls were lined by booths of red leather. At the end of the room was the stage. Its curtains (also black with red) were drawn closed, so Harry could not tell the stage's size.

But, by far, the most impressive feature of the club was the bar. It dominated the open space, circular in shape with the bartenders preparing and serving drinks from the center of it. They found Dean there, conversing with the bartender. He greeted them with handshakes for the men and kisses for the ladies.

"I was afraid you wouldn't come," he admitted excitedly. "Not that I would have blamed you if had decided to stay home. But I am glad you made it."

"It looks like we're the only ones to have made it," Charlie said, looking around at the near empty room.

"It's early," Dean replied nonchalantly. "It'll pick up nearer to show time." He showed them to a booth and chatted with them for awhile, before being called away by one of the managers.

Dean was right. It wasn't long after the group had settled in and ordered drinks that despite the weather, people started to trickle in, and soon, the place was packed with a lively crowd.

They had just ordered another round of drinks when Dean approached their booth, looking nervous and a bit hesitant. He came up to Ron and whispered urgently in his ear. Ron listened briefly, his eyes going wide. He pulled away to face his old schoolmate. "What, who told you that?" he demanded angrily.

"George," Dean replied evenly.

Ron whipped his head around and glowered at his older brother from across the booth.

George grinned broadly and stared back at Ron with unwavering eyes.

"George?"

"Yes, Ronnie?"

"Why did you—?"

"Because he asked and I told him the truth," George replied. "Oh, look, our drinks are here."

"Which are on the house," Dean interrupted. "All night, if you do it," he added.

Harry watched the exchange, confused as to what was going on.

Ron closed his eyes and rubbed his face with his hand.

"Please, Ron," Dean pleaded. "It would be a big help. You might even have fun. I'll make sure that you are well compensated. You have my word."

Ron sighed and dropped the hand from his face. "Yeah. Okay, fine," he consented grudgingly.

"Yes, thank you, Ron, you're a prince!" Dean exclaimed as Ron started to scoot out of the booth.

"You owe me."

"Of course, of course," Dean agreed nodding vigorously.

"Ginny, Charlie, looks like we're up," Ron said, gesturing for them to get up as well.

Harry opened his mouth to ask him what was going on, but before he could get one word out Ron spoke again.

"I'll be right back," he promised them.

"This should be good," George commented.

"What should be good?" Harry finally asked.

"Oh, I wouldn't want to spoil the surprise," Ron replied.

"We'll just have to wait and see," Hermione added, handing Harry his bottle of Fuller.

Harry took the beer and exchanged a curious look with Hermione. He perched on the edge of his seat, saying nothing, occasionally drinking from his glass. He could feel the anticipation oozing from almost every pore.

Where was Ron?

He looked around the club pensively, caught in his own thoughts.

A small group had formed in front of the stage. It looked as though the band had arrived. Harry was inclined to ignore it until he heard a familiar voice.

"Uh, hull-hullo? Uh, unfortunately 2Broken2Care is stuck in traffic, so…uh, we'll be entertaining you until they arrive."

"Ron?" Hermione gasped incredulously.

Harry stared wide-eyed as Ron stood behind a piano, what kind Harry couldn't say, not knowing much about pianos. Next to him, Ginny occupied center stage, a bass strapped over her shoulder. Behind her, Charlie sat before an elaborate set of drums, his arms working frantically as he tested them.

Grabbing the microphone, Ron adjusted the stand to fit his height. A loud piercing sound made everyone wince collectively as feedback echoed from the speakers. "Sorry," Ron apologized, his face crimson.

"I'm Ron Weasley, this is my sister Ginny and our brother, Charlie. We call ourselves…Electrick Wildfire."

George whistled and clapped loudly. "Fire!" he screamed. "Fire, Fire, Fire!"

"George, stop it or people are going to think there's an actual fire," Hermione scolded.

"You're no fun, Granger!"

Back on stage, the trio was huddled together, lost in a brief conversation. Nodding in unison, they broke apart and returned to their positions. They toyed with the instruments, tuning them just so. A round of encouraging applause rose up from the crowd.

With a nod of Ron's head, it began.

What started out as a few random notes of the piano, a pluck of the bass and the softest ring of a cymbal, transformed into a haunting and engaging melody.

And then Ron sang:

_Morning smiles_  
_Like the face of a newborn child…_

His voice was soft and wavered here and there, but as the song continued, it remained soft but grew in strength and was full of emotion.

It was as though Harry was hearing his mate for the first time.

And in a way, he was.

_Winter's end_  
_Promises of a long lost friend_  
_Speaks to me of comfort._

Ginny sang along midway through, her light and lilting voice an undercurrent augmenting the power of Ron's.

_But I fear_  
_I have nothing to give_  
_And I have so much to lose_  
_Here in this lonely place_  
_Tangled up in our embrace_  
_There's nothing I'd like_  
_Better than to fall_  
_But I fear I have nothing to give…._

Ron sang the last verse with his eyes closed. Whether he closed them because he was caught up in the music or if not seeing the audience made it easier for Ron to play, Harry didn't know. Either way, his performance was enchanting.

Ron's voice went still higher but increased in intensity as he sang:

_But I fear_  
_I have nothing to give_  
_And I have so much to lose_  
_Here in this lonely place_  
_Tangled up in our embrace_  
_There's nothing I'd like_  
_Better than to fall_

The drums rolled in, shifting the energy of the crowd, who had been swooning to the sound of Ron's voice and were now dancing to the beat of the Charlie's drums.

Harry looked on in amazement as the Weasley trio's music filled the air. His emotions shifted from amusement as Charlie rocked out on the drums, to awe at Ginny's bass playing, to shock as Ron's voice blasted through the speakers placed strategically around the club.

He couldn't see Ron hands working the keys, but the music of the piano was enchanting. He continued to watch the band, feeling something stir within him as he listened to Electrick Wildfire.

_But I fear_  
_I have nothing to give_

For a while, Ginny took over with her bass while her brothers backed her up. Ginny was impressive, holding her instrument and strumming it with ease, bobbing her head and swaying her body from side to side as the song progressed. During Ginny's solo, Harry caught Ron staring at him for a long moment before he averted his gaze and scanned the crowd, closing his eyes and beginning to sing once more:

_From above they say temptation will destroy our love_  
_The never ending hunger._  
_But I fear_  
_I have nothing to give_  
_And I have so much to lose_  
_Here in this lonely place_  
_Tangled up in our embrace_  
_There's nothing I'd like_  
_Better than to fall_

Ginny stopped her accompaniment, leaving the rest of the song to her brother. Ron's voice rose higher, slightly shaky as if he was truly as afraid, as the song's lyrics suggested.

_But I fear_  
_I have nothing to give_  
_And I have so much to lose_  
_I have nothing to give_  
_And I have so much to lose_  
_But I have to fear at all_  
_I have no fear at all..._  
_Ah, ahhhhhh!_

Ron vocalized a long sorrowful note that faded away with music.

There was a brief pause of silence before the room exploded with dozens of hands busy in applause. Cheers and whistles and even some heartfelt tears.

Harry stared at Ron who held his gaze until Charlie clapped him on the back and the spell was broken.

Ron stood and accepted his brother's enthusiastic embrace.

Harry sat there, staring unseeingly at the stage. The emotional urgency of the song had left goose bumps over his skin, though he felt incredibly warm inside.

It took him a moment to realize that someone was saying his name.

"Harry, Harry…"

"Wha—?"

"Are you all right? You look like you're about to cry."

"He's fine, Hermione. He's just shocked is all," George supplied with a wink. "Didn't know your mate could do that, did ya?"

"Er, no I didn't," Harry replied honestly. Turning his attention back to the stage, he joined the crowd in cheering for another song.

Ron thanked the crowd for their support, his voice smoother now that it had warmed up.

"Thank you, thank you. I've some good news. I've just been told that 2Broken2Care has arrived and will be on stage shortly. I apologize for the delay and thank you for you patience. Goodnight."

The crowd erupted into their biggest cheer yet as the three Weasley siblings disappeared as the curtains swung forward.

Harry was on his feet in a moment and weaving his way through the crowd, heading (with Dean's help) backstage.

Ron was just coming off the stage. When he saw Harry he paused.

"Hello," Harry said, announcing his arrival.

Ginny pushed past her brother to Harry. "Hullo, Harry," Ginny gushed, greeting him with a hug.

"You guys were brilliant."

"Thanks, it was a lot of fun," she said, grinning widely. "Excuse me Harry, but I need to ask Dean something. I'll meet you back at our table."

"Sure." He turned to find Ron looking at him.

"I didn't know you were so talented," Harry said with a smile. "Why didn't you tell me that you could play?"

"I don't know. It never came up," Ron shrugged his shoulders. "I'm not ashamed of it, but I'm not proud of it either."

"I don't see why not, you were amazing."

He waved off Harry's compliment. "I messed up a lot. It's been ages since I last played."

"I didn't notice, and I don't think anyone else cared either. Cheer up, it was a good show. I was very impressed."

"Do you even know what that song was about?" Ron suddenly asked.

Harry thought for a moment, reliving the song in his head. "It's about love, right?"

"Yes, the fear of true love, or rather the fear of rejection of true love."

"You wrote that about me," Harry blurted, knowing it was the truth the moment he said it.

Ron stared back for a long time, and though Harry he wasn't sure what was going through Ron's head, he immediately felt bad for teasing him.

Perhaps he'd gone too far.

To his amazement, Ron laughed. "Yeah, well, what can I say, I wrote it in back in school," he admitted. "When I was lovesick."

"And you're not lovesick anymore?"

"You know I'm not," Ron said, leaning forward to kiss Harry. "Unlike the guy in the song, I got my happily ever after."

Ron kissed him again, and the goose bumps returned, along with that wonderful warm feeling that swept through Harry as he kissed his mate back.

"You know, for a song, it wasn't half bad."

"Shut up, Harry."


End file.
